Here are today’s and tomorrow’s daily SP Streamer rankings for fantasy baseball.
Every day of the 2024 baseball season, I’ll be looking at today’s and tomorrow’s slate of scheduled starting pitchers and ranking their matchups for your fantasy baseball streams.
There’s a lot that goes into this and you can hang out with me on Playback.tv/pitcherlist to talk about the specific ranks as I make them every weekday morning from 10am – 12pm ET. If you have questions about these ranks, please ask during the morning Playback AMA. Those are my office hours as I generally don’t answer comments on the site.
There are four tiers to these rankings with 12-teamers in mind:
Auto-Start – Just do it. Don’t overthink this, start the man. This includes “if I have them rostered, I’m starting them” pitchers.
Probably Start – I’m likely starting these arms, though I recognize there is more risk than we’d like there to be. Either it’s a tough matchup for a good-not-elite pitcher or a weak lineup for a volatile arm. These pitchers have a 50% or greater chance of performing well in my view and I’m starting them in the majority of situations.
Questionable Start – Think of this tier as “I don’t want to start these pitchers in a vacuum, but you could do worse.” Streamers found in this tier are not pitchers I’m targeting and are only if you are in dire need of one. To play it safe with streaming, just start the Probably Start streamers.
Do Not Start – The reward is not worth the risk. Don’t do it. Seriously, these pitchers have a very slim chance of success or sometimes none at all.
Obviously, there will be circumstances where pitchers should move between teams for your situation specifically and these new tiers should act as a little more help than the straight table from last year.
Please keep in mind that streaming is far from a perfect play. In fact, if they work out over half the time, I’d consider it a success. These matchup rankings & streamer picks are going to be wildly different than the actual results throughout the year, so please, have sympathy before the scathing comments and tweets. I’m only trying to help!
Make sure to read the notes if you’re wondering why I’m favoring certain pitchers over others – I won’t get to everyone and hopefully I answer what questions you will have.
There is a second table for tomorrow’s starting pitcher matchups as well, helping everyone get a jump on their nightly pickups. Please note that these matchups are subject to change, though, and there will be times when I have the incorrect pitcher going. I thank you for your future understanding.
Finally, there are my streaming picks of the day, and please keep in mind that I am forced to pick a streamer every day. Those highlighted in Green are that day’s streaming pick in the second tier and I’d roll with them everywhere. Those in Yellow are in the third tier and should be okay if you’re searching for something on a given day, but I don’t recommend streaming unless you’re in need. Finally, those are Red are those I really don’t want to start (they are labeled as “Do Not Start”, after all) but have no other choice. Don’t stream these guys until you are truly desperate. A streaming pick is defined as “rostered in 20% or fewer leagues according to Fantasy Pros. This really emphasizes the point that I’d be happy if over 50% of these worked. I could do the whole sub 30/40% rostered, but there’s no fun in that. You can use the rankings to realize who those picks would be instead.
(Opener) – Outlines that a pitcher is being opened for that day & the pitcher listed will follow the opener.
As I do my rankings, I thought it would be helpful to showcase a table of how we’re ranking offenses (in alphabetical order by tier):
I’m sure it’ll change through the year + there are differences to be made about teams vs. LHP or RHP, but it works as a general table that y’all should keep in mind.
To spice up these streaming recommendations, I’ve included our new daily fantasy baseball projections powered by PLV, and I’ll be competing against PL Bot to pick the best streaming option each day.
These projections are different from your typical projections as they incorporate our pitch quantifier, assessing pitcher and hitter skills at a much more granular level than your standard box score.
To get access to PL Bot’s picks each day, sign up for PL Pro here.
The streaming record is determined by “Was this a productive game for 12-teamers if I started them?” Roughly a PQS with a Win and a strikeout per inning with a sub 1.20 WHIP, with a minimum of 5 IP. Close calls are decided by Playback chat.
Nick’s 2024 Streamer Record: 85-70
My pick yesterday: David Festa @ TBR – W
PL Bot’s 2024 Streamer Record: 86-69
PL Bot’s Pick yesterday: Patrick Corbin @ MIA – W
Want PL Bot’s pick today? Sign up for PL Pro here.
My streaming pick of the day is Underlined and Italicized.
Wednesday’s Starting Pitcher Rankings
Auto Starts
Shota Imanaga vs. PIT – Aces gonna ace.
George Kirby @ OAK – Are you good? Seriously, we need ya.
Sonny Gray @ MIL – Gray strikeouts out too many to deny this.
Probably Starts
Spencer Arrighetti @ CIN – He’s been on such a run that I don’t think you’re benching him, even in Cin City.
Seth Lugo vs. CLE – Lugo came through in a big way against the Astros and it’s enough to feel confident against the Guardians.
Cristopher Sánchez @ TOR – That Jays lineup isn’t scary.
Zac Gallen @ SFG – Gallen is a in a weird place, fortunately he gets the Giants.
Nathan Eovaldi vs. NYY – Eovaldi is looking sharp, I just wish it weren’t the Yankees.
Tanner Houck @ NYM – Houck’s results have been great save for one massive clunker, but the skills are questionable. I think he’s more precarious than the last month would suggest.
Bowden Francis vs. PHI – I get it. He’s been unreal so how could I rank him so low? Because this is the first legit offense he’s facing and I don’t buy his four-seamer/splitter combo.
Albert Suárez vs. CHW – It’s a great Win chance and a clear stream if you still can.
Questionable Starts
Ben Lively @ KCR – He’s a Vargas Rule who has shown cracks in the armor.
Marcus Stroman @ TEX – Stroman is a QS/Win chance arm without a high ceiling.
Charlie Morton vs. COL – He’s a Cherry Bomb but gets the gift of Rockie Road.
JP Sears vs. SEA – Sears’ second half has been much improved, but I still classify him as a Cherry Bomb with his four-seamer chaos + unreliable changeup.
Tylor Megill vs. BOS – It’s a good matchup and Megill was able to keep his secondaries low in his last outing.
Bobby Miller @ LAA – Who knows, y’all. I hope we get the slider cooking with high four-seamers. Please.
Yu Darvish vs. DET – Wait, HE’S BACK! And we have no idea how long he’ll go or how he’s feeling.
Louie Varland @ TBR – It’s a solid matchup where his four-seamer will play up effectively as The Trop adds 1-2 inches of vert. I wonder if he can take advantage.
MacKenzie Gore @ MIA – He’s done well in two straight, including sitting 96/97 mph against the Yankees. Maybe it’s time to jump back in for just one game and go from there?
Colin Rea vs. STL – It’s a dart throw, but the Cardinals aren’t the best offense and Rea has made it through 5/6 frames without the best stuff.
Do Not Starts
Hayden Birdsong vs. ARI – I don’t trust the guy at all.
Valente Bellozo vs. WSN – His stuff is mid and he needs the great grace of Koufax with pristine command.
Domingo Germán @ CHC – Ehhhh, I don’t like the guy at all.
Keider Montero @ SDP – Montero doesn’t do a whole lot and the Padres are a strong offense.
Jonathan Cannon @ BAL – If Cannon can find a rhythm and not let it up, he could find six frames. The odds of an unproductive start are very high.
Tyler Alexander vs. MIN – How long will he go? Does T-Lex have any meat on his bones?
Bradley Blalock @ ATL – At least it’s not in Coors?
Griffin Canning vs. LAD – Oh no.
Nick Martinez vs. HOU – OH NO.
Enjoy these rankings? Support my work and Pitcher List by getting PL+ or PL Pro! You’ll get an Ad-Free website, access to our incredible non-toxic baseball Discord community, my weekly PL Pro exclusive SP FAAB Forecast podcast, a full suite of fantasy baseball tools, and much more. Get 10% off yearly with code SPSTREAMERS here.
Thursday’s Starting Pitcher Rankings
Auto Starts
Blake Snell vs. ARI – Aces gonna ace.
Pablo López @ TBR – Aces gonna ace.
Reynaldo López vs. COL – This is too good a matchup and Win chance.
Bryan Woo @ OAK – We love Woo right now, even away from Seattle.
Hunter Brown @ CIN – Brown is on a roll and you’re not benching him, even in Cin City.
Probably Starts
Ranger Suárez @ MIA – It’s a great situation, though Suárez isn’t quite in the same rhythm as we saw in May.
Merrill Kelly @ SFG – The results haven’t been there for Kelly, but seeing 92/93 mph last time out makes me confident he can be a Toby taking advantage of a weak offense. Too bad it’s against Snell for a lower Win chance than usual, though.
Joey Estes vs. SEA – He’s a Toby against a poor offense. Like Kelly, but with a lower ceiling.
Questionable Starts
Jake Irvin @ PIT – He’s a Cherry Bomb who doesn’t have the old curveball.
Martín Pérez vs. DET – I wanted to push this higher, but I’m a little worried that Pérez isn’t in a rhythm at the moment.
Bailey Falter vs. WSN – Falter’s four-seamer can force his way to the finish line against a middling lineup.
Taj Bradley vs. MIN – He’s a Cherry Bomb with a horrific floor.
Jack Kochanowicz @ TEX – Jack is a sinkerballer who could wake up and find a Quality Start at the foot of his bed.
Do Not Starts
José Ureña vs. LAA – He has the best matchup down here, but y’all know the phrase.
Adam Oller vs. PHI – Oller has surprised us a bit lately, but I don’t want to risk it against the Phillies. If he has his curveball landing over the plate with solid four-seamer feel, I’d love to roll with him for his easier schedule after this one (Pirates and Nats).
Austin Gomber @ ATL – You just saw Freeland take advantage of his time outside Coors, maybe this is Gomber’s shot? Very unlikely. I know, I know.
Rhett Lowder vs. HOU – Lowder didn’t impress me in his debut. His fastball/slider can find five frames, but the risk is too high.
Casey Mize @ SDP – Mize isn’t fixed and it’s the Padres.
Enjoy these rankings? Support my work and Pitcher List by getting PL+ or PL Pro! You’ll get an Ad-Free website, access to our incredible non-toxic baseball Discord community, my weekly PL Pro exclusive SP FAAB Forecast podcast, a full suite of fantasy baseball tools, and much more. Get 10% off yearly with code SPSTREAMERS here.
Photos Courtesy of IconSportswire | Adapted by Aaron Asbury (@aarongifs on Instagram)